Helmet



E. CAIRNS Nov. 29, 1932. l

HELMET Filed May 6, 1952 INVENToR @anun/3Q,

' ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 29", 149732` UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Application led May 6, 1932. Serial No. 609,621.

This invention relates to headgear, being emblazoned or embossed with suitable inespecially adapted for remens helmets, alsignia. though being applicable to other types of My invention is fully described in the folhats and has for its objects the provision of Vlowing description and drawing lforming a a light, sturdy, one-piece ornament that isV part thereof, in which 55 adapted to bridge the space between the Figure lis a planyiew and Fig. 2 is a loncomb on the top of the helmet and the top of gitudinal side elevation, partially in section, the shield and to securelyretain and center of a liremanshelmet equipped with my imthe upper end of such shield, thereby'preproved ornament;

o venting accidental displacement thereof, be- Fig. 3 is ak horizontal section on the line 60 sides lending itself to accommodate ribs and 3-3 of Fig. 2 and combs of different sizes. Heretofore it has Fig. 4is a perspective view of my improved been customary to mount an ornamental fige ornament or bridge member, isolated. ure, such' as an eagles head, a fox, beaver, Referring to the drawing and the construcsnake, etc., at the top of the front shield of tion shown therein, the reference numeral l 65 a liremans helmet, the same having beenv designates the crown AorA body member of a usually made of two symmetrical embossed fire helmet and 2 the brim thereof.v As halves soldered together and a vertical pin shown, the crown is provided with combs or was often driven into the top of the leather ribs ,3 formed by sewing together' the adjashieldV and through the front end of such cent up-turned edges of the adjacent sections figure in order to center and retain the shield which form the helmet and at the intersecagainst lateral displacement. Such ornation thereof at thevtop of the hat, the usual ments, however, in use, especially if struck comb cover or cap is provided, whoseproject` by falling objects tended to readily split openy ing arms Il conform to a Greek cross and at the soldered joint, often becoming loose, are adapted to snugly embrace the alternate 75 and it is accordingly necessary to entirely re-l ribmembers 3,'being riveted thereto by means place or repair the same. To avoid V,the obof rivets. The body 6 of said lcover is of bell jections possessed by such ornament, it `has or dome shape and projects to within ashort been proposed to cast them the'same as an distance, preferablyV but a small fraction of Y- integral piece, but these cast ornaments wereV a-n inch of the crown ofthe hat, thereby per- 80 objectionably heavy and, furthermore, the mitting the ventilation of the lsame through uniform slot which was formed in such cast.-V the vertical ducts 7. The usual'shield '8 is ing for the reception of either the comb or secured to the front end ofthe crown by the rib of the helmet did not satisfactorily means of rivets 9, the same beingv adapted to fit the varying sizes of combs or ribs'of difhave emblazoned thereon or otherwise seferent hats andowing to the nature of the cured thereto'suitable insignia or ornamentacast material, it was virtually impossible to tion (not shown), such for example as'that fit the ornament thereto by bending the sides designating. the particular fire department thereof because of the inherent brittleness of and the particular engine vcompany thereof.

40 such castings. As shown, said shield is of arcuate horizon- My investigations led tothe discovery that tal cross section, the same being reinforced if such ornament is formed in one-piece by by a metallic bow or arcuate brace 10, that stamping upthe same fromlight sheet metal, serves to preserve such arcuate configuration such as sheet brass, `the various objections particularly at the upper end of the shield.

- possessed by all prior ornaments for fire- An ornament or bridge element 11 inter- 95 mens helmets can be eliminated and such connects the top of the shield and front rib one-piece ornament is furthermore cheap, of the helmet, the bridge preferably being of will vhave all its exposed surfaces smooth and sheet metal lconstructionY and being formed withal will possess an extremely `attractive from aV single piece of metal by stamping up appearance, besides lending itself to being.` asheetto form opposing, substantially par' 109 allel, side members 12, 12, which terminate at their bottom 13, 13 in substantial points, and a projecting hollow terminal hook member 14, which terminates in a very thin edge 15 and also has opposing, substantially parallel, side members 16. Said ornament embraces the central front rib 3 of the hat and also receives the top pointed end a of said shield member 8, besides also having oblique faces Z), ZJ that are adapted to bear against and reinforce the brace or bow 10. The upper end of the shield 8 is formed into a point and is adapted to project into the space c between the opposing sides 16 of said hook member, thereby securely centering the latter and preventing its lateral displacement without requiring the mutilation of the end of the shield by driving a pin thereinto in the manner heretofore customary. The rear of said bridge member is preferably embraced by the front arm of the comb cover and a grommet d serves to hold said cover, the rear end of the bridge and such rib in an assembled relation. As shown, said bridge member is also secured to rib 8, at its lower front end by another grommet al.

The front edges b, b of the bridge proper are parallel with each other and oblique with respect to the vertical edges thereof and, as stated, are adapted to abut against the brace 10. The lower edges g of the sides 12, 12 are preferably on the other hand, of identical curvature, corresponding generally to the outer curvature of the front of the helmet from the comb cover at the top of the dome to the point of the disappearance of the crown behind the shield, whereby stock size of the bridge can be readily fitted to hats having crowns of different sizes, since it is merely necessary in applying the bridge, to secure the same to the front comb so that the terminal hook projects into a predetermined position with respect to the brim of the hat and thereupon the shield is secured to the hat and the top end has been inserted into the recess c. If the rear end of the bridge, when applied to a small hat, extends back too far to be received beneath the front arm of the comb cover, it is merely cut olf to the extent necessary. Itis desirable that the lower edge 15 of the hook 14 be relatively thin so that it can be caused to bite into and firmly grip the leather, which is the customary material of the shield and thereby it Will more effectively anchor the same against movement.

Various changes within the scope of the appended claims may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to obtain by United States Letters Patent is:

1. In a helmet, the combination comprising a crown having converging ribs and having a central comb cover at the point of juncture of the ribs, one of said ribs projecting forwardly and centrally, an upward extending shield member secured to the front of the crown and a sheet metal bridge member having a closed top and depending, substantially parallel sides embracing that portion of the edge of such rib which would otherwise be visible between the top edge of the shield and the comb cover and said bridge member having a hollow hooked portion in engagement with the eXtreme top of said shield and said bridge member being secured to said forwardly projecting rib.

2. In a helmet, the combination comprising a crown having a forwardly projecting central rib, an upwardly'projecting shield having a pointed upper end secured to the front of the crown, and a unitary bridge member formed of a single piece of sheet metal, having a closed top and depending substantially parallel sides, embracing that portion of the outer edge of such rib not hidden by such shield and the front end of said bridge member being channelled and extending downwardly across the top portion of said shield and the top end of said shield projecting into the channel in the front end of said bridge member and the eXtreme end of the front end of said bridge member being in snug engagement with said shield adjacent the tip thereof, whereby said shield is securely held against dislodgment from said bridge member.

3. In a helmet, the combination comprising a crown having converging ribs, an upwardly projecting shield having a pointed top end secured to the front of the crown, a unitary bridge member formed of a single piece of sheet metal, the same being of U- shaped cross-section and having a closed top and substantially symmetrical depending sides, the lower edges of said sides being arcuate, and the lower portion of the front edges of said sides extending obliquely to the upper portion of such front edges, said bridge having a channelled terminal hook member which extends across the top end of said shield and downwardly over the front face thereof adjacent said top end and the eX- treme tip of said hook snugly engaging the front face of said shield and the said top end of said shield projecting into the space bctween the sides of the channelled hook member.

4. In a helmet, the combination comprising a crown having a central, forwardly extending rib, an upwardly extending shield, curvilinear in horizontal cross-section, secured to said crown, a brace for maintaining the curvilinear cross-section of said shield and a bridge member, formed of sheet metal and having depending sides, interconnecting the top of said shield and said rib, the sides Gf said bridge abutting at their lower front edges against said brace and the lower edges of said sides being of a curvilinear configuration substantially conforming to that of the adjacent portion of the crown.

5. In a helmet, the combination comprising a crown having a central, forwardly eX` tending rib, an upwardly extending shield,

having a pointed upper end and curvilinear in horizontal cross-section, secured to said crown, a brace for maintaining the curvilinear cross-section of said shield and a bridge member, formed of a single piece ofsheet metal and having a closed top and depending sides, interconnecting the top of said shield and said rib, the sides of said bridge abutting at their lower front edges against said brace.

Signed at New York, in the city, county and State of New York, this 4th day of May, i932.

EDWARD GAIRNS. 

